Water Color: A Black Man's Tribute to the White Mother , is an autobiography and James McBride's memoir was first published in 1995; it is also a tribute to his mother, whom he calls Mommy, or Ma. The chapters alternate between James McBride's account of his early life and the first-person account of his mother's life, Ruth, mostly occurred before his son was born. McBride describes the conflicting emotions he encountered as he struggled to discover who he really was, for his mother told him of the difficulties he had to overcome as a white Jewish woman who chose to marry black men in 1942.
Video The Color of Water
Plot
In The Color of Water author James McBride writes both his autobiography and his appreciation for the life of his mother, Ruth McBride. Ruth married Andrew Dennis McBride, a black man from North Carolina. James's childhood was spent in a chaotic household of twelve children who had neither the time nor the outlet to ponder the question of race and identity. Ruth does not want to discuss the painful details of early family life when her cruel father, Tateh, orders his angry and gentle mother, Mameh. Ruth has severed all ties with her Jewish family, since they basically did not recognize her when she married James's father.
After arriving in the United States when he was two years old, Ruth spent her childhood in the countryside with her family when her father sought a job as a rabbi. Tateh finally gave up hope of earning a living as a rabbi. He built a family in Suffolk, Virginia, and opened a shop in a largely black section of the city, where he flooded his customers and expressed his racist opinion. When Ruth was younger, Tateh sexually harassed her and demanded that she keep working at the family shop. Tateh had an affair with his wife, in an affair almost everyone in the city was aware of. Ruth's brother, Sam, leaves home at the age of fifteen, and before long, Ruth also feels she has to leave. He wants to escape from the oppressive environment of both the family and the South. She is also pregnant by Peter, her black boyfriend in Suffolk, and wants to deal with pregnancy away from her family. He traveled to New York to live with his relatives, and then moved permanently to Harlem. The Ruth family rejected him when he left, disgusted with his preference for marrying a black man and not a Jewish man, his general failure to embrace Judaism, and his rebellion against his father. Ruth promises her sister Dee-Dee that she will return to Suffolk, but she can not reconcile her family's wishes for her life with her own wishes for her life. He betrays his promise to return to Dee-Dee, and his relationship with his sister suffers as a consequence. This separation from his family repeated throughout the memoirs as a painful element in Ruth's life.
In Harlem, Ruth meets Dennis, whom he is attracted to. He married her, converted to Christianity, and became deeply involved with church activities. The couple experienced a certain degree of prejudice as a result of their inter-racial marriage. However, Ruth recalls the years of her life as the happiest. Dennis and Ruth open the New Brown Memorial Church together to commemorate Rev. Brown, their favorite preacher. They had several children, and eventually moved to accommodate their growing family. When Ruth got pregnant with eighth child Dennis, James, Dennis got sick from lung cancer, and died before James was born. Ruth mourned her death deeply and despaired in searching for a way to support her and her eight children. He approached his relatives to ask for help, but they refused to make contact with him. Ruth met her second husband, Hunter Jordan, soon after. They married and eventually had four children together.
James wove his own story into his mother's story. Ruth's philosophy of race, religion, and work greatly influenced her. Ruth always sends her children to the best schools, no matter the trip, to make sure they receive the best possible education. She demands the respect and hard work of her children, and always treats them gently. He has a firm faith in God and a strong moral conviction. For Ruth, race and identity issues are concerned with moral trust. Ruth died at his home in Ewing, New Jersey on January 9, 2010.
Maps The Color of Water
Character
Ruth's family side
- James: narrator, his son
- Ruth McBride Jordan: mother of 12 children and second narrator
- Hudis Shilsky aka Mameh: Ruth's mother. Although paralyzed on the left side of his body, still managed to become a faithful wife and a good mother.
- Fishel Shilsky aka Tateh: Ruth's father. Tateh is a bad husband in many aspects like loyalty and love. Fishel also happens to be a rabbi, who will sleep with his daughter. He even mocks his own wife, Mameh, in public for his disability.
- Gladys "Dee-dee" Shilsky: Ruth's sister. It was revealed that Dee-dee was the only brother of Ruth born in America. Often, Ruth would say that she was jealous of her because she did not have to deal with negative stigma against Jews like Ruth.
- Sam Shilsky: brother of Ruth. He ran away from home at the age of 15, no longer wanting to deal with Tateh. Ruth said that she died while fighting in the Second World War.
James's side of the family
- Andrew Dennis McBride: James's biological father, Ruth's first husband, a caring father and minister. Died of lung cancer.
- Hunter Jordan: Stepfather, Ruth's second husband, dies after a recurrence stroke
- From the oldest to the youngest (excluding James, who is the eighth child): Dennis, Rosetta, Billy, David, Helen, Richard, Dotty, Kathy, Judy, Hunter, and Henry: James '11 siblings (Jacqueline "Jack": Princess Andrew from previous marriage)
- Nash and Etta: his grandparents
- Henry Walter, and Garland: uncle
- Clemy: a cousin of the south
- Z and Maya: his nephew
- Becky: brother-in-law
- Karen aka Karone, Leander Bien, and Laurie Wesman: ex-girlfriend
- Stephanie: current wife
- Linwood Bob Hinson: cousin of North Carolina
- Azure, and Jordan: James's children
Others
- Frances Moody: Ruth's childhood friend is very close; only a schoolmate who befriends Ruth; a Gentile
- Peter: Ruth's first girlfriend. She also made her pregnant and Ruth then dumped her after she found out that she got another pregnant girl.
- Billy Smith: James's best friend
- Big Richard: Jack's husband and James's friend
- Madam. Ingram: Ruth's good friend as an adult
- Israel Levy: old Jewish friend Ruth who allowed his father (rabbi) a permanent place
- Rocky: Barber shop manager
- C. Lawler Rogers and Hal Schiff: music teacher
- David H. and Ann Fox Dawson: the donors who helped James go to Europe about his goal to become a musician
- Chicken Man: A Big Richard friend who taught James that he knew about the streets and helped him change his life
Settings
- Places: Suffolk, Virginia (Ruth's hometown); New York City (James McBride's home during most of his childhood); Wilmington, Delaware (James's family moved to Delaware in adolescence)
- Time: James's Life (part of his life was written in Water Color ): 1960-90 and Ruth's life (part of his life written about): Beginning in 1920, emphasis in the 1930s, '40s and '50s
Symbol
Power Black
James spoke of the Civil Rights Movement describing his decision to rely on the African-American side of his bi-racial identity. Many of his older brothers have also chosen to simply admit that they are African-American.
Ruth bikes
It symbolizes his constant need to move to cope with stress, depression, and his escape.
Ruth's mother song: Love of Birds
When Ruth's mother sings the song "Birdie, Birdie, Fly Away", she refers to Ruth as a bird, able to move quickly and easily, while she calls herself a deformed bird that deserves to be sacrificed and killed. This predicted his death.
Themes
- Past vs. Now; self-motivation; and secret charges
- Racism. Black-and-white relationships in the United States and how they were formed by the civil rights movement/Black Power
- Feels comfortable with not only someone's identity, but a person's background and feelings
Reception
The trade paper edition, published in February 1998, on the New York Times bestseller list for over 100 weeks (2 years), won the 1997 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Literary Perfection, is an ALA Book Important This year, The New York Women's Agenda's first book for "New York City Reads Together" and has sold over 1.5 million copies. It has been published in 16 languages ​​and in over 20 countries.
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments